


The Terror That Flaps In the Night

by GingerAnn



Category: Marvel
Genre: Clint is smarter than people think, Panic Attack, grown men watching cartoons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-18 12:03:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7314505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GingerAnn/pseuds/GingerAnn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky is having a panic attack and Clint is the only one around to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Terror That Flaps In the Night

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this with the thought that it was a pre-relationship WinterHawk story. But it's not noticeable which is why I didn't tag it as such. It could also be read as a pre-relationship Stucky story. Whichever. Or neither.

Clint woke up to an alarm sounding.

"Wha?" Clint questioned as he sat up. Which he did too quickly and rolled off the couch. The alarm stopped.

"Agent Barton, it seems that Sergeant Barnes is having a panic attack," JARVIS said.

"And you're telling me this why?" Clint asked sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Captain Rogers, Sergeant Wilson and Agent Romanoff are not back from their mission yet. Captain Rogers asked me to have you check on Sergeant Barnes," the AI replied.

"Oh, okay," Clint said jumping up. He rode the elevator from his floor of the Tower to the floor that Steve and Bucky shared. He caught his reflection in the elevator doors as he was waiting to get off. At least he was dressed. Not dressed well since he was wearing purple lounge pants and a ratty black T-shirt. But, still dressed.

JARVIS opened the door to the apartment and Clint took a deep breath before walking inside. He wasn't used to being the one that talked people down.

"Bucky?" Clint called out. "It's Clint."

He walked through the apartment slowly, making a point to be as loud as possible as he did so. He was not about to sneak up on a highly trained assassin super soldier. He snuck up on Steve once and ended up with a broken rib. If he snuck up on Bucky he might not walk away.

"JARVIS said you weren't having a good morning," Clint said. Kitchen and living room were clear. "I'm not good at talking about feelings and shit, but I am a damn good listener." Bathroom clear. "I nod in all the right spots."

Clint walked into Bucky's bedroom and found the other man curled up on the floor of the closet.

"Hey," Clint said. He held up his hands and approached slowly.

Bucky just stared at him with wide eyes. He was breathing fast and tears were streaming down his face. Clint wasn't even sure if the guy knew where he was. He was watching Clint, but was he seeing Clint?

Clint knelt down outside the closet. He was thankful that Sam taught them all how to deal with these situations. Too many of the Tower's residents had issues and Sam wasn't always around to help.

"I need you to breath, Bucky. Can you do that for me?" Clint asked softly.

Bucky nodded.

"Okay. Come on. In and out. Nice and slow," Clint said. "Remember how Sam taught you?"

Bucky nodded. After a couple minutes his breathing finally evened out.

"There you go," Clint said smiling at him. "Do you want to come out of there?"

Bucky shook his head.

"Okay. That's fine," Clint said. "I'll be right back."

Clint hopped up and left the room. He went into Steve's bedroom and grabbed the pillow and quilt off the bed. He walked back to Bucky's room, grabbed the same off his bed and went back to the closet.

"Sit up for a sec," Clint said. Bucky did so without question, though he didn't take his eyes off of Clint. Clint laid Steve's pillow down inside the closet, and Bucky's outside the closet. Bucky laid back down, burying his face into Steve's pillow and breathing deep. Clint laid Steve's quilt down over Bucky before laying down himself. He pulled the other blanket around himself.

Bucky moved closer to Clint. His hand found Clint's under the blanket and he laced their fingers together. He watched Clint's face as he did so. Clint let his face show nothing, but he gave Bucky's hand a reassuring squeeze.

================

Steve was almost on the verge of having a panic attack himself when they finally made it back to the Tower. He ran down the five flights of stairs from the landing pad to the apartment he shared with Bucky.

"Bucky?" He called as he opened the door.

"In here!" Bucky's voice yelled from his bedroom.

Steve walked into Bucky's bedroom to find Bucky and Clint laying in Bucky's closet. They were watching something on Clint's phone.

"What are you two watching?" Steve asked.

"Darkwing Duck. It's a duck that is a superhero," Bucky said smiling up at Steve.

"A superhero duck?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, wanna watch?" Bucky asked. He was still smiling.

"Woah, woah, I don't think there's enough room in this closet for the three of us," Clint said.

"I gotta clean up anyways," Steve said.

"We can move to the living room," Bucky said standing up. He helped Clint stand.

"Okay, that sounds good," Steve said.

"I'll have Nat bring my DVDs down then," Clint said.

"You have this on DVD? You are awesome," Bucky said.

"Yeah, I know," Clint said.

"I'm gonna text Sam. He'll love this!" Bucky said.

"You go start the popcorn. I'll put the blankets away and reassure Steve that you're okay," Clint said to Bucky.

"Okay," Bucky said and left the bedroom. A grin on his face.

"Thank you," Steve said.

"No problem," Clint said.

"Who brought the blankets in?" Steve asked.

"I did. Not sure if you noticed, but you're kind of the guy's comfort object. I figured something of yours might help him calm down. And you're an asshole and took the shield with you."

"Good idea," Steve said.

"Every so often I have one of those."

"People underestimate you too often, Clint," Steve said clapping a hand onto Clint's shoulder.

"Yeah, I know. I like it that way. Now go shower. You stink."

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr: http://gingerann.tumblr.com/


End file.
